Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Whisky Magazine

Well, it’s been a quiet few weeks here at Whisky Towers, as summer hit full swing with the mercury bursting out of the thermometers. Here in the UK it has been an unprecedented summer and start of the harvest season. Farmers have reported crops to be adversely affected by the searing temperature and lack of rain – one to watch to see if an increase in barley prices will have an impact on the whisky world. Thankfully some much needed rain is now falling as I write this, so hopefully I will not have a garden that resembles a desert, and the few veggies that have survived the onslaught of heat and slugs will regain some form and ripen. As you delve into the issue, I hope you will pick…

I’d like to talk about The Whisky Drinker. But before I do that, let’s talk about all the other drinkers. The tequila drinker, for instance, likes to party. The gin drinker is long-suffering and has a cat. The dark rum drinker has been on a Caribbean vacation within the past year. The absinthe drinker is hopeful. The Armagnac drinker probably has a political science degree. The light beer drinker has recently been told by a medical professional that he should join a gym. The whisky drinker, however, contains multitudes. Don’t worry, I promise this won’t switch gears into That Feminist Screed. Nor am I going to launch into marketers’ jargon (ie: 'the coveted 21-to-35 demographic.') I’m talking about how in bars and restaurants and at festivals across the world, I…

The sleepy Borders town of Hawick has a long history of manufacturing and was once one of the United Kingdom’s most productive textile towns. In fact, by 1870 more than one million pounds of wool was being brought to the town from the surrounding pastoral landscape to be transformed into hosiery, tweed cloth and more. This raw material was worked by the numerous mills located along the banks of the River Teviot, which provided the valuable resources of power and process water. As arguably the first manufacturing town in the South of Scotland, Hawick came to be at the heart of the wider textiles industry for which the Scottish Borders became famous. The legacy of that industry, though diminished since those halcyon years came to an end in the latter…

Canada is on the brink of war. In the Arctic North is Hans Island where Canada and Denmark have been locked in an ownership feud since the 1930s. In 1984, a Danish politician visited the island, raised the national flag and left brandy with a note, ‘Welcome to the Danish island’. Canada politely responded with their military leaving a ‘Welcome to Canada’ sign and a bottle of Canadian Club. The Danish returned, took the whisky, replaced the sign, and planted a bottle of schnapps. Diplomats have been struggling to defuse the situation since. This year celebrates the 160th anniversary of Hiram Walker’s distillery in Windsor, Ontario. In the beginning, Walker would never dream his Canadian Club whisky would become a weapon of non-destruction. Walker ran a successful vinegar venture and…

In this issue, we will examine the most common small to mediumsized styles of humidor. We begin with the most humble storage option of them all: the Tupperware or ‘tupperdor’. For anyone just starting out in the world of cigars, this is the best low-cost option as all that’s really needed to store tobacco safely is an air-tight container that can maintain a consistent internal humidity. The tupperdor should also be food safe (so it won’t impart foreign flavours or aromas) and, ideally, opaque. Just like whisky, cigars don’t like being stored in direct sunlight. Saying that, keeping a transparent tupperdor in a cool, dark place will work just as well. Though practical and thrifty, it must be admitted that whipping out a Tupperware full of cigars when friends come…

Taster biographies Rob Allanson Rob is Editor of Whisky Magazine and formally held the position as a global brand ambassador for William Grant & Sons', whisky portfolio. His experience in the industry, which has seen him explore whiskies from around the world, has given him a keen and well-versed palate. Sam Coyne Sam is a writer for Whisky Magazine, and editor of TheDrinksReport.com, although still only on the early steps of his journey in the spirit. A literature graduate, Sam enjoys looking at the stories behind today's whisky brands. THE PROCESS All samples are blind tasted, with ABV and style the only information disclosed. Samples are tasted individually over a two week period. Tasters are provided tasting and scoring guidelines for consistency. The top scorer is awarded Scores of…

Tariffs that Canada and the EU recently imposed on American whiskey have led to some wild armchair speculation on whisky chat boards and social media. Will they kill the American whiskey boom? Will other countries rush to fill the gap with new whiskies designed to mimic Bourbon? The message from some of the multinational whisky companies seems to be that losses in some export markets can likely be made up elsewhere, particularly at home. However, new American distillers just breaking into global markets are vulnerable, particularly if Europe and Canada are key markets. In theory, tariffs can motivate industries to move production from the targeted countries to the one initially imposing them. By hitting foreign producers with tariffs, the US administration hopes foreign steel and aluminum plants will set up…

When I started writing about whisky a while ago, blending – particularly grain – whisky would more often than not divide people. There were always the comments of: ‘I would never drink a blend as they are cheap rubbish and harsh’; ‘grain is a simple bulk liquid’; ‘a single malt is much better than a blend’. Unfortunately these opinions are still out there. At a recent Whisky Live the looks on people’s faces when they found out they had been drinking Johnnie Walker Gold in a masterclass said it all. Despite being the biggest category in the whisky world, when you say to people that you enjoy blends, it’s like admitting to being a member of a select club – I feel somewhat like it must have been back in…

The level of alcohol in malt whisky varies significantly, from the minimum bottling strength of 40% ABV (indicating that alcohol accounts for 40 per cent of the contents), up to stalwarts such as 43% and 46% ABV, while cask strength extends way beyond. These numbers clearly confirm that alcohol has a significant presence, and we all know how it can affect our psyche and anatomy. But how does alcohol affect malt whisky? “Alcohol holds everything together, but as I’ve never tasted an alcohol-free whisky it’s difficult to say exactly what this entails,” says Dr Bill Lumsden, director of distilling, whisky creation & whisky stocks, Glenmorangie. Consequently, “The role of alcohol is very difficult to deconstruct from all the other influences, such as the ageing process and cask type. "Gas chromatography…

While many single malt Scotch whisky brands have come round to the idea of promoting the use of their spirit in cocktails, something that still invokes ire from many diehard whisky fans, few have thrown themselves into the world of the ontrade quite like Auchentoshan. Although the idea of partnering with bartenders to produce a list of serves or running a cocktail competition themed around a particular brand isn’t a new idea (see: Talisker’s 'Race to Skye' or The Macallan’s ‘Edition’ series), the idea of launching a permanent core range expression that’s specifically designed for use in mixed drinks is novel. In fact, such is the cultural hostility surrounding the use of single malt in cocktails that most Scotch whisky companies have instead launched entirely independent blended malt brands to…

Whisky Live Paris 22 – 23 September 2018 Since 2004, Whisky Live Paris has continued to grow every year, attracting more and more exhibitors from all around the world, as well as visitors with a passion for malt, rum, all types of fine spirits and mixology. Today Whisky Live Paris is unquestionably the largest whisky and fine spirits tasting event in Europe, with numerous distilleries awaiting this opportunity to reveal their new products for the first time. For its 15th edition, Whisky Live Paris will once again be held in one of the capital’s most dynamic cultural locations, the City of Fashion & Design, from September 23rd to September 25th and will have plenty of surprises in store for you! Whisky Live Johannesburg 31 October – 2 November 2018 Whisky…

There has been increasing media coverage celebrating the rye revival. Most of this coverage has been generated from the US, focusing on American straight rye whiskies. But rye has long been the dominant flavour in Canadian and Bourbon whiskeys. Along with barley, rye has been one of the most important distilling grains for more than four hundred years Rye is not a shy grain when it comes to flavour. It’s bursting with complexity and intensity, a veritable cocktail of pungent fruit and spice flavours. No wonder America’s cocktail juggernaut has taken rye from near-obscurity in 2005, to be the king of cocktail flavours. Under mass-spectrometry, rye whiskey’s flavour chemistry is the most complex of all cereals. Hence, it needs judicious use when added to flavour Bourbon, Canadian whisky and cocktails.…

Battle of the Blends is back for another year, but this year with a little twist. After last year’s two time winner George Keeble dropping the mic and moving to Australia, it was time for a shake up in the competition. So this year welcomes two brand new challengers in the shape of Editor, Rob Allanson and Editorial Manager, Sam Coyne. Both are tasters for various magazines, including this one, American Whiskey Magazine and Rum magazine. The twist this year will be that the two contenders have to create a blend based on a classic whisky cocktail. The final whisky, which should be ready by Whisky Live London for judging, must try to mimic or replicate the chosen drink. Sam will be aiming to achieve an Old Fashioned in whisky…